Off topic for a second...

Hey bsprtgrp, you mention in your signature that the BSW Stage 1 speakers are actually MB Quarts...is that a fact?

When I purchased the STAGE 1 from BSW, MB Quarts were my speaker of choice.

I don't understand. MB's are my speaker of choice also because I love they bright highs, especially all 14 of them in my 7! I'm still curious as to who BSW uses for their speaker replacement for the X though...I know they're not manufacturing the tweeters themselves.

Then let me clarify........When I purchased the Stage 1 setup from BSW in 2006 you had a CHOICE of speakers to choose from.....MB Quarts OR Rainbow. I choose the MB Quarts (Tweets & Mids)...midrange were OEM from BSW

From the looks of their website TODAY, they seem to be now manufacturing their own speakers (Mids)

When I got the BSW Speaker upgrade for my wife's '04 X5 in '07 you had no choice & they are Rainbow speakers.

Ok, I had no idea they gave you a choice.
A Google search of Rainbow speakers brought me here BMW speakers from IQ Car Audio. Interesting. I'm going to have to see what price differences I can find now...

EDIT - $130 difference between BMW E39 Car Speakers by Rainbow Car Audio from IQ Car Audio. and BMW Speakers Upgrade for E39 BMW 528i, 540i, 525i, 530i, M5 Sedans & Wagons | BSW: Audio Upgrades For BMWs. God, I love the internet.

Either way, whenever I decide to start upgrading my speakers in the X, I'll look for MB's and make them work.

Sorry for the interruption, back to our regular programming :)

I don't know where "taos nm" is located, but do you have autoparts stores there that might let you use their code reader? Sure, it's not as good as the DIS/MODIC machines, but it'll get you in a ballpark and we can definately work from there.

m5james,

taos is about 75 miles north of santa fe. We do have an indy that I have used for some other minor repairs. I guess I will take it in and see what is causing the SES to come on. Just before my COP ran out I took it to dealer (SES light was on at time) and they diagnosed a couple of bad hoses near the intake manifold. They also did a complete once over and replaced some other things that most dealers would have let slide. The SES light has gone on and off several times in the last two months and I have not noticed any difference in the way it runs.

Can anyone out there tell me what the MAF sensor actually does? I was under the impression it senses air flow and makes milisecond changes to the computer to control fuel/air mixtures, timing inputs, etc. What kind of signs exist if your MAF is not working properly? Anyone

I figured NM, but I wasn't sure since there are people all over the world on here.

Google or Wikipedia could probably give you a better definition, but here's a shot...

It's a heater wire sensor that, as flows across it, the engine determines how much more or less fuel is needed based on the airflow. So if you've got a highflowing cold air intake, it'll notice, or if your filter is due for replacement from being clogged it'll also notice. It's also helpful when doing heavy elevation changes where the air is getting thicker or thinner as you go.

There is also an air temp sensor that ties into the MAF (seperate unit) that measures how hot or cold the air is for density purposes. Early E39 M5's had the temp sensor located too close to the radiator, so it would get false high temp reading. The aftermarket caught onto this and sold relocation kits, but since then BMW figured it out and relocated them also, solving the problem.

Some ways you can tell if the MAF is failing is by using the OBC and watching the fuel consumption, but I don't remember where the breakdown tables on based on our engine size. Meaning that if your using plenty of fuel, but the car doesn't feel as fast as it could, that maybe the MAF is slowing loosing it's sensitivity to flow changes and your just wasting gas, in turn ruining your catalytic converters (common problem in earlier M62's). They're kind of like 02 sensors, after time of repeated heating and cooling cycles, they don't adjust to changes as quickly. If you're having starting problems, rough idle in the morning, flashing SES and backfiring through the intake (the worst to have), then try unpluggin the MAF and see if that fixes things. If it does, then you've found your culprit. One thing to note though, if you've got these issues, especially the flashing and backfiring, you'll be worse off if you reset the codes as opposed to just driving w/ the MAF unplugged until you get your replacement. Reseting the codes erases everything the computer learned when the MAF was functioning normally, so if you leave your bad MAF plugged in, then try to drive around on it w/ it giving bad readings, you'll definately be worse off that if you had left it w/ at least some amount of good learned settings.

It's a heater wire sensor that, as flows across it, the engine determines how much more or less fuel is needed based on the airflow. So if you've got a highflowing cold air intake, it'll notice, or if your filter is due for replacement from being clogged it'll also notice. It's also helpful when doing heavy elevation changes where the air is getting thicker or thinner as you go.

There is also an air temp sensor that ties into the MAF (seperate unit) that measures how hot or cold the air is for density purposes. Early E39 M5's had the temp sensor located too close to the radiator, so it would get false high temp reading. The aftermarket caught onto this and sold relocation kits, but since then BMW figured it out and relocated them also, solving the problem.

Some ways you can tell if the MAF is failing is by using the OBC and watching the fuel consumption, but I don't remember where the breakdown tables on based on our engine size. Meaning that if your using plenty of fuel, but the car doesn't feel as fast as it could, that maybe the MAF is slowing loosing it's sensitivity to flow changes and your just wasting gas, in turn ruining your catalytic converters (common problem in earlier M62's). They're kind of like 02 sensors, after time of repeated heating and cooling cycles, they don't adjust to changes as quickly. If you're having starting problems, rough idle in the morning, flashing SES and backfiring through the intake (the worst to have), then try unpluggin the MAF and see if that fixes things. If it does, then you've found your culprit. One thing to note though, if you've got these issues, especially the flashing and backfiring, you'll be worse off if you reset the codes as opposed to just driving w/ the MAF unplugged until you get your replacement. Reseting the codes erases everything the computer learned when the MAF was functioning normally, so if you leave your bad MAF plugged in, then try to drive around on it w/ it giving bad readings, you'll definately be worse off that if you had left it w/ at least some amount of good learned settings.[/QUOTE]


Thanks, I sort of figured it had to do with fuel mixtures but this explanations really helps. I don't think my MAF is out of wack because I do not experience any of the symptoms you mention above. Once when I started her, there was a puff of bluish smoke out of the exhaust and a nasty smell emitted but it cleared up in a few seconds and never done it again.

My fuel consumption on the 4.6 runs about 18 to 19 mpg with straight interstate type driving. Just went on a long trip about 4k miles and averaged 18.1 for the whole trip. Running around town I am getting about 14 - 15 unless I get on it and it drops monumentally. The wifes 4.4 gets about 17 round town and as much as 23 on the highway. So long story short, I am getting about what BMW states on their sticker. I figured the difference in mpg between the two is the fact the at 4.6 has a little lower gear ratio 390 vs 360 for the 4.4 (and it is kinda fun to punch the 4.6 now and again). My old 840 had 282 gears (I think) and it would get over 25 on the highway at 85 mph (about 2500 rpm). The 840 would run 100 mph and the tack would not even hit 3K.

Oh I am getting off topic but thanks for the explantion. I took the beast by the indy shop today and they wanted $125 minimum to run a diagnostic. They said they would find the codes and then diagnose the problem. That is more than the stealership charges. We have an O'Rielys and an Autozone, so I will check and see if they can give me the trouble code(s).
Thanks again.